A Mitsukoshi Dilemma

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Hi all, I have a dilemma about my Mitsukoshi Speedmaster.

Let's say an original 3570.31 purchased in 2004 had an incident (e.g. water damage) in 20 years of its life that led to Omega replacing the original dial with a service dial during overhaul / repair. The watch is still a real ref 3570.31, and Omega is the one who performed the swap, but now the watch is completely indistinguishable from the mods since they also use oem service dials (lost the subtle differentiators that original dial had vs service dials).

The value that market puts on a 3570.31 is that it's an original Mitsukoshi Speedmaster and not some common aftermarket mod, so how should the fact that Omega swapped the original dial out for service dial during overhaul affect its market value? Obviously there are plenty of examples of vintage Rolex references that lost a chunk of their market value because of service dials, but I'm not sure what, if any, impact this should have on a 3570.31.

I would like to believe that this is still worth far more than what the aftermarket mods are valued at, but slightly lower than an all-original 3570.31. At the end of the day, it still looks fantastic, and Omega can confirm that it is indeed a Mitsukoshi Limited (too bad they stopped providing archive extracts, I would very much like to get one).

What I tell myself is that it's still a 3570.31, and that since it was Omega that performed the swap (which they would never do for a non Mitsukoshi Speedmaster overhaul), the value of originality is still intact to some degree though not the same as having all-original parts. I also tell myself to just enjoy the watch as I have done so for many years without worrying so much about market value, but given the rarity of this watch it's hard to ignore the resale value completely.

What do you guys think?
 
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For me personally, it would have a big impact on what I would be willing to pay. The value of the Mitsukoshi is in the dial. The service dials, which were used here and there for modifying normal Speedmasters, have a much lower street value. I would value your watch a bit more than a regular Speedmaster modded with a Mitsu service dial, but not near a full original Mitsukoshi.
 
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I agree with black talon, the watch is unfortunately worth only a touch more than the mods. I wouldn't pay anything near original mitsu value for it.

That said, the mods are incredible watches, and should be a joy to wear forever. No reason to fret about the value unless you are selling.
 
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Here's my opinion, fwiw.

I value an original significantly higher than a mod, and I love my mod. Value, however, doesn't always translate neatly into money. But relative to a modded watch, an original should be more money.

I also still consider an original with a service dial to still be an original. But as you said, any original with a service dial is devalued. I still find it attractive, but it's monetary value diminished.

How much money has it devalued? Not sure. Maybe halfway between a mod and a fully original? In some respects, the mods may hold up the monetary value of a service dial original.

I have a modded Apollo 35th, so that says something about where I'm coming from. I wanted a Mitsubishi but they weren't available.

 
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Here's my opinion, fwiw.

I value an original significantly higher than a mod, and I love my mod. Value, however, doesn't always translate neatly into money. But relative to a modded watch, an original should be more money.

I also still consider an original with a service dial to still be an original. But as you said, any original with a service dial is devalued. I still find it attractive, but it's monetary value diminished.

How much money has it devalued? Not sure. Maybe halfway between a mod and a fully original? In some respects, the mods may hold up the monetary value of a service dial original.

I have a modded Apollo 35th, so that says something about where I'm coming from. I wanted a Mitsubishi but they weren't available.

Agreed 100%. Every time we discuss values, "those are service hands"/etc is always significant and reduces the value. It ends up being up to the market of course, but IMO on something as significant and unique as the original Mitsu watch/dial is going to be a majority of the extra value.

That said, Id wear /love the crap out of a mod, service, original, or even your modded 35th 😀
 
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Is there a deterministic way to identify a service dial vs original dial? Other than service records obviously
Have you read this thread? Your question can be answered here.
 
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Have you read this thread? Your question can be answered here.

After rereading that thread, I'm still not clear on or convinced of a difference between a service dial and the first iteration.

The author of the linked thread identified a slight difference in the Swiss at the bottom and also the width at dial edge. It wasn't clear to me that the width was due to the dial or to the cases they were installed in. Also, the Swiss difference was so slight I would want to see more examples to know if it was a variable in a few manufactured dials versus all the dials in two distinct batches (i.e. first release versus later service.) Regardless, the differences were slight from what I could see.
 
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After rereading that thread, I'm still not clear on or convinced of a difference between a service dial and the first iteration.

The author of the linked thread identified a slight difference in the Swiss at the bottom and also the width at dial edge. It wasn't clear to me that the width was due to the dial or to the cases they were installed in. Also, the Swiss difference was so slight I would want to see more examples to know if it was a variable in a few manufactured dials versus all the dials in two distinct batches (i.e. first release versus later service.) Regardless, the differences were slight from what I could see.
That’s what I thought as well, the Swiss is obviously not the same in the author’s example but without examining multiple samples of original dials I wouldn’t be so confident about it being a definitive differentiator. Looking at some of the original (or claiming to be original) and mod mitsukoshis for sale, there are mods with more bottom spacing and originals with less spacing than others.